US PGA Championship - Woods to make 11th hour decision on whether to play

Tiger Woods has requested an extension to decide if he can play in the US PGA Championship, starting on Thursday in Kentucky.

The former world number one withdrew during Sunday's final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational because of back pain and returned home to Florida for medical evaluation - and is still unsure over whether or not he is able to play in the final major of the year.

He officially had until 5pm local time on Wednesday to register for the event, but organisers have granted his request to allow him to make a decision minutes before his 8.35am tee time on Thursday morning.

US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson said it "doesn't bode well right now" for Woods to be selected as a captain's pick for the team.

"Tiger would be a great addition to our team," Watson told PGA Tour Radio on Monday. "As I've said all along, I would pick Tiger Woods if he's healthy and playing well. This doesn't bode well right now.

"I just hope that maybe it's just an isolated problem that he can turn around and possibly play this week at the PGA."

Woods, who has been stuck on 14 major titles since winning the 2008 US Open, has played only six events this season with his best result a tie for 25th at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He has withdrawn twice from tournaments and missed the cut in another.

Prior to the Bridgestone, the 38-year-old Woods finished 69th at the Open Championship after closing with a 75 for a six-over-par total of 294.

"It concerns me because that's an injury that seems like he tried to address before and he's come back from that particular injury," said Watson.

The U.S. Ryder captain said he sent Woods a text to tell him he was sorry about the injury, and "I hope you get well soon."